📘 Dark Ampharos (Team Rocket)

Category: Pokemon TCG · Created: · Updated:

Dark Ampharos holo card artwork from Neo Destiny (Neo4)

Image courtesy of TCGdex.net

Overview

The card presents Dark Ampharos, a Rare Lightning-type Pokémon from the Neo Destiny expansion, produced under the Team Rocket era of the Pokémon Trading Card Game. As a Stage 2 evolution, it follows Flaaffy in the Ampharos line and carries the distinctive Dark designation associated with Team Rocket’s shadowy faction. This card represents a transitional period in the TCG when trainers encountered Pokémon with explicit villainous branding, a design choice that added thematic depth to the evolving competitive landscape of the era. With 70 hit points and a combination of a Pokémon Power and a single notable attack, the card emphasizes risk-versus-reward play typical of early 2000s mechanics, where “Dark” variants often interacted with oppositional energy dynamics and deck-building archetypes distinct from standard contemporary staples.

Collectibility and print characteristics reflect its position in the Neo Destiny set. The card’s collector number is neo4-1, and it is available in multiple print variants, including normal, holo, and reverse holo, though first edition prints were not produced for this particular card. The illustrated artwork by Kagemaru Himeno complements the dark aesthetic of Team Rocket with a visually striking electric Pokémon, aligning with the set’s thematic emphasis on altered forms and rarer, more powerful evolutions within the era’s constraints.

Card Information

  • Name: Dark Ampharos
  • Set: Neo Destiny (Neo4)
  • Collector Number: neo4-1
  • Rarity: Rare
  • Type: Lightning
  • Stage: Stage 2
  • HP: 70
  • Evolves From: Flaaffy
  • Illustrator: Kagemaru Himeno
  • Dex Number: 181
  • Abilities: Conductivity (Pokemon Power) — Whenever your opponent attaches an Energy card to a Pokémon from his or her hand, this Power does 10 damage to that Pokémon. (Don’t apply Weakness and Resistance) This power stops working if you have more than 1 Dark Ampharos in play or while Dark Ampharos is Asleep, Confused or Paralysed.
  • Attacks: Shock Bolt — Cost: Lightning, Colorless, Colorless. Effect: Discard all Energy cards attached to this Pokémon to use this attack. Damage: 50
  • Weakness: Fighting ×2
  • Resistance: None
  • Retreat Cost: Not specified
  • Variants: Normal, Holo, Reverse
  • First Edition: False
  • Legal Formats (as of update): Standard: False; Expanded: False
  • Illustration Credits: Kagemaru Himeno

Gameplay and Strategy

Dark Ampharos presents a two-pronged approach typical of early Dark-type Pokémon cards, combining a punishing energy-attachment mechanic with a straightforward offensive option. The Pokémon Power Conductivity automatically reacts to the opponent’s energy acceleration, dealing 10 damage to the target Pokémon whenever an Energy card is attached from the hand. This effect is notable for its timing: it rewards players who actively disrupt the opponent’s energy setup by pressuring the attached Pokémon with incremental damage while potentially discouraging attachment strategies to certain targets.

Key strategic considerations include:

  • Energy management: The Shock Bolt attack requires discarding all Energy attached to Dark Ampharos. This means building a clear plan to either keep Energy on the bench or accept that Dark Ampharos will need to sacrifice energy to deliver damage, potentially powering down its own presence on the bench.
  • Target selection: Conductivity’s trigger hinges on the opponent’s attachment decisions. Against decks that rely on rapid energy acceleration, Dark Ampharos can apply consistent incremental pressure to the opposing active or benched Pokémon, especially if the attacker’s attachment is to a key threat.
  • Team Rocket synergy: As a Dark-type card associated with the Team Rocket era, Dark Ampharos fits into archetypes built around villain-themed strategies and disruption, where players leverage negative- or energy-control advantages to tilt matchups.
  • Vulnerability balance: With a 70 HP pool and a Fighting-type weakness ×2, Dark Ampharos remains relatively fragile by modern standards. It requires careful positioning and protection from hits that could threaten its presence before a decisive finish is achieved.

In practice, Dark Ampharos acts as a mid-game pivot—not a pure attacker, but a card that slowly erodes opponent setup while providing a substantial finish potential when the right energy thresholds are met. In formats where the card is legal, it is typically used in thematic decks that seek to leverage Team Rocket’s broader mechanics and card interactions, rather than as a sole cornerstone of a competitive plan.

Collector and Market Information

Dark Ampharos carries rarity in the Neo Destiny era, and its value is influenced by print variant, edition status, and condition. The card exists in normal, holo, and reverse holo forms, with holo printing generally commanding higher interest among collectors due to its limited availability within the era’s distribution.

Market data (as of late 2025) illustrate a notable range in pricing between non-holo and holo prints and between standard and first-edition-style presentations:

  • Updated around 2025-10-31, average price approximately 42.39 EUR; low end around 10 EUR; price trend around 41.91; average prices for related time windows (1-day, 7-day, 30-day) indicate moderate fluctuation. No holo-specific average is listed in the provided data.
  • TCGPlayer (USD): For Unlimited Holofoil releases, the low price is around 39.99 USD, mid around 56.99 USD, high around 90.00 USD, with a market price near 79.40 USD. For 1st Edition Holofoil, the low price is around 148.76 USD, mid 149.99 USD, high 279.95 USD, with a market price near 200.00 USD.

These figures reflect the historical appeal of Neo Destiny’s Dark cards, including the holo variants, which tend to carry premium values due to their rarity and collectible status. Price points vary with card condition, printing, and market demand, and buyers and sellers should consult up-to-date listings for precise figures. The combination of rarity, play value in historical formats, and the card’s place in the Dark/Fossilized Team Rocket era makes Dark Ampharos a subject of interest for both collectors and historians of the Pokémon TCG.

Art and Lore

The artwork of Dark Ampharos, illustrated by Kagemaru Himeno, captures a stark, dark-themed interpretation of Ampharos, aligning with the Team Rocket motif of corrupted or altered Pokémon. Himeno’s illustration contributes to the atmosphere of the Neo Destiny era, where several Pokémon carried Dark or altered designs that complemented the game’s evolving narrative themes. The Dark Ampharos design sits within a broader tradition of Team Rocket–aligned cards that used the “Dark” designation to signify villainous chemistry and a more aggressive aesthetic compared to standard cards of the period.

While the Pokémon universe lore centers on trainers and their Pokémon, the TCG’s Dark variants offer a parallel storytelling lens. Dark Ampharos embodies the idea of a Pokémon altered by external forces, mirroring Team Rocket’s recurring influence in the larger franchise. For collectors and lore enthusiasts, the card represents a concrete example of early-2000s crossovers between gameplay mechanics and thematic storytelling through card design.

Trivia

  • The collector number neo4-1 indicates an early printing within the Neo Destiny suite, underscoring its status as one of the introductory Dark-era Ampharos prints in that set.
  • Dark Ampharos uses a Pokémon Power mechanic (Conductivity) that was characteristic of the era, with a rule component that restricts usage if more than one Dark Ampharos is in play or if the Pokémon is affected by certain conditions.
  • The card’s single attack, Shock Bolt, requires discarding all Energy attached to Dark Ampharos, creating a design where offense and energy management are tightly coupled with the card’s defensive pressure from Conductivity.
  • Although Dark Ampharos is from Neo Destiny and is printed in holo, reverse, and normal forms, it is not Legal in Standard or Expanded formats, reflecting its status as a collectible relic rather than a modern-competitive option.
  • Artistic credit goes to Kagemaru Himeno, whose interpretation of the Dark Ampharos design contributes to the period’s distinct visual identity for Team Rocket-related cards.

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